'Godfather of Soul' James Brown dies By HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press Writer Mon Dec 25, 2006 James Brown, the undeniable "Godfather of Soul," told friends from his hospital bed that he was looking forward to performing on New Year's Eve, even though he was ill with pneumonia. His heart gave out a few hours later, on Christmas morning. The pompadoured dynamo whose classic singles include "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)" died Monday of heart failure, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music. He was 73. "People already know his history, but I would like for them to know he was a man who preached love from the stage," said friend Charles Bobbit, who was with Brown at the hospital. "His thing was 'I never saw a person that I didn't love.' He was a true humanitarian who loved his country." The entertainer with the rough-edged voice and flashy footwork also had diabetes and prostate cancer that was in remission, Bobbit said. Brown initially seemed fine at the hospital, Copsidas said. Three days before his death, he had participated in his annual toy giveaway in Augusta, and he was looking forward to his New Year's Eve show. "Last night, he said 'I'm going to be there. I'm the hardest working man in show business,'" Copsidas said Monday. He said Brown planned to perform during a two-week tour in Canada after hitting Times Square. Brown was himself to the end, at one point saying, "I'm going away tonight," Bobbit said at a news conference later Monday. "I didn't want to believe him," he said. A short time later, Brown sighed quietly three times, closed his eyes and died, Bobbit said. One of the major musical influences of the past 50 years, Brown was to rhythm and dance music what Bob Dylan was to lyrics. From Mick Jagger to Michael Jackson, David Bowie to Public Enemy, his rapid-footed dancing, hard-charging beats and heartfelt yet often unintelligible vocals changed the musical landscape. He was one of the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and other founding fathers. "He was an innovator, he was an emancipator, he was an originator. Rap music, all that stuff came from James Brown," entertainer Little Richard, a longtime friend of Brown's, told MSNBC. "James Brown changed music," said Rev. Al Sharpton, who toured with Brown in the 1970s and imitates his hairstyle to this day. "He made soul music a world music," Sharpton said. "What James Brown was to music in terms of soul and hip-hop, rap, all of that, is what Bach was to classical music. This is a guy who literally changed the music industry. He put everybody on a different beat, a different style of music. He pioneered it." Sharpton will officiate at Brown's funeral service, details of which were still incomplete, Copsidas said. Brown won a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (best R&B recording) and for "Living In America" in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.) He even had a brief but memorable role on the big screen as a manic preacher in the 1980's movie "The Blues Brothers." Brown, who lived in Beech Island, S.C., near the Georgia line, had a turbulent personal life that included charges of abusing drugs and alcohol. After a widely publicized, drug-fueled confrontation with police in 1988 that ended in an interstate car chase, Brown spent 15 months in a South Carolina prison and 10 months in a work release program. From the 1950s, when Brown had his first R&B hit, "Please, Please, Please" in 1956, through the mid-1970s, Brown went on a frenzy of cross-country tours, concerts and new songs. He earned the nickname "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business" and often tried to prove it to his fans, said Jay Ross, his lawyer of 15 years. Brown's stage act was as memorable, and as imitated, as his records, with his twirls and spins and flowing cape, his repeated faints to the floor at the end. "He was dramatic to the end — dying on Christmas Day," said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a friend of Brown's since 1955. "Almost a dramatic, poetic moment. He'll be all over the news all over the world today. He would have it no other way." His "Live at The Apollo" in 1962 is widely considered one of the greatest concert records ever. He often talked of a 1964 concert in which organizers made the mistake of having the Rolling Stones, not him, close the bill, remembering Mick Jagger waiting offstage, nervously chain smoking, as he pulled off his matchless show. "To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one's coming even close," rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy once told the AP. Brown routinely lost two or three pounds each time he performed and kept his furious concert schedule in his later years even as he fought prostate cancer, Ross said. With his tight pants, eye makeup and outrageous hair, Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince. And the early rap generation overwhelmingly sampled his music and voice as they laid the foundation of hip-hop culture. "Disco is James Brown, hip-hop is James Brown, rap is James Brown; you know what I'm saying? You hear all the rappers, 90 percent of their music is me," Brown told The AP in 2003. Born in poverty in Barnwell, S.C., in 1933, Brown was abandoned as a 4 year old to the care of relatives and friends. He grew up on the streets of Augusta, Ga., in an "ill-repute area," as he once called it, learning how to hustle to survive. By the eighth grade in 1949, Brown had served 3 1/2 years in reform school for breaking into cars. While there, he met Bobby Byrd, whose family took Brown into their home. Byrd also took Brown into his group, the Gospel Starlighters. Soon they changed their name to the Famous Flames and their style to hard R&B. In January 1956, King Records of Cincinnati signed the group, and four months later "Please, Please, Please" was in the R&B Top Ten. Brown is survived by his fourth wife, Tomi Rae Hynie, one of his backup singers, and at least four children — two daughters and sons Daryl and James Brown II, Copsidas said. ___ Associated Press writers Hillel Italie in New York and Greg Bluestein in Atlanta contributed to this report. *** James Brown was the ultimate showman By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer Mon Dec 25, 2006 With a scratchy, husky voice defined by its piercing shrieks and guttural groans, James Brown didn't own the most beautiful pipes in music. While he wrote songs that touched on just about every aspect of the human experience — love, heartache, joy, pride, even revenge — few listened to his music for the lyrics. In fact, his often incomprehensible singing style may have been the most mimicked aspect of his persona. And though he was an amazing dancer, his moves were far from choreographed — they had a raw, unpolished aspect that seemed to be devised as his propulsive beats unspooled. Perhaps that's what made Brown so captivating, so riveting — that raw emotion that characterized every aspect of his career, from his vocal style to his frenetic dancing. Brown was an explosive force who managed to redefine and reimagine music with the sheer power of his one-of-a-kind sound. There are plenty of superstars in the entertainment galaxy, but only a select few have had the ability to transform an art form. Brown was so dynamic, he did it several times over. Those classic rap songs on your iPod? Many would not be classics without that sample from a James Brown beat. Michael Jackson's confounding dance moves? He got his inspiration as a child while watching Brown (even Mick Jagger borrowed from Brown's dynamic stage showmanship with his trademark struts). Those funky horn arrangements and shrieks that define many a Prince song? They defined Brown's music years before. Though soul music was around long before James Brown came on the scene, it was never the same after he arrived. His electric delivery made a love song a full-on testimonial delivered with the fervor of a sermon. His intricate horn arrangements inspired many imitators. Brown earned his title "Godfather of Soul," but he was never limited to one genre. He inspired rockers, his funk was part of the early seeds of a disco movement and his oft-used spoken-word delivery made him a forefather of rap. While his music seemed to have a combustible, unrehearsed tone, he was a consummate professional who carefully orchestrated everything, from his shows to his songs. He wasn't known as a songwriter, but he wrote or co-wrote most of his hits. The empowering lyrics to songs like "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)," "Papa Don't Take No Mess" and "The Big Payback" show he was about more than yelps and moans. Brown kept pushing until the end. In an interview with The Associated Press three years ago, Brown appeared a bit tired. He hinted that he might nearing the end of his performance years, citing a litany of medical problems weighing him down. But a question about retirement was quickly shot down, and the always genial Brown made it clear that despite his aches and pains he was still the hardest working man in show business. "Things are going good," he told this reporter in 2003, "and all I got to do is just hold up." And he did, almost until the end. He was scheduled to perform a New Year's Eve date at the B.B. King Blues Club in New York's Times Square. Over the next few days, there will be pages and pages written in tribute to James Brown in an attempt to compose a final epitaph for the man and his music. But just as Brown's music defied categorization, there may never be enough words written to adequately describe Brown or the impact he has had — and continues to have — on generations of musicians worldwide. *** James Brown, civil rights icon, peacemaker By Dean Goodman Reuters Mon Dec 25, 2006 Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, James Brown. The "Godfather of Soul," who died in Atlanta on Monday aged 73, was one of the most important leaders of America's civil rights movement during the second half of the 20th Century. He communed with presidents and elected officials of all political stripes, recorded groundbreaking black-pride anthems, and may have saved Boston from being burned by rioters in the days following the assassination of Martin Luther King. He took hits from both sides. The white establishment was terrified that a seventh-grade school dropout from South Carolina might be fomenting a revolution. Black radicals were appalled that he would sing a tune like "America is My Home," dine at the White House and employ white band members. His funky 1968 anthem "Say it Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" preached economic self-reliance and taught generations of hard-working blacks it was time to "get our share." "We'd rather die on our feet than be livin' on our knees," he sang. "Back then, black folks were called negroes, but James said you can say it loud, that being black is a great thing instead of something you have to apologize for," rapper Chuck D. of the group Public Enemy said in 2003. Brown recorded the song live during an all-night session in a Hollywood studio. He sent out for help from some neighborhood children who answered, "I'm black and I'm proud," every time he called out, "Say it Loud." Brown later recalled that most of the kids were white or Asian. He had mixed emotions about the song, describing it as "obsolete," if necessary for the times, and said he shouldn't have to teach people they should be proud. Many whites stopped coming to his shows. A few months before that, King was assassinated and cities across America engulfed by riots. Brown may have singlehandedly saved Boston from burning. A day after the April 4 murder, he was scheduled to play a concert there. Nervous city fathers proposed canceling the show until wiser heads pointed out that angry ticket buyers would definitely cause mayhem. Brown arranged with the local public television station to broadcast the concert live, and he went on the radio to urge fans to stay home and watch it for free. The city's black neighborhoods were eerily quiet as a moist-eyed Brown took to the stage of the Boston Garden and punctuated his funky soul tunes with remembrances of King and appeals for calm. The day after the Boston show, Brown flew to Washington D.C., which had been badly hit by riots. Once again, he took to the airwaves to appeal for restraint and to declare that education and ownership were better ways to seek justice. *** Quotes about the death of James Brown Associated Press Mon Dec 25, 2006 Comments about James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," who died on Christmas morning at the age of 73: ___ "What James Brown was to music in terms of soul and hip-hop, rap, all of that, is what Bach was to classical music. This is a guy who literally changed the music industry. He put everybody on a different beat, a different style of music. He pioneered it." — Rev. Al Sharpton. ___ "He was an innovator, he was an emancipator, he was an originator. Rap music, all that stuff came from James Brown." — Little Richard. ___ "I am hurt. That's my godfather, my soul inspiration, the hardest working man in show business of all time. He'll be missed, but his music and his legacy will live on through me, in every way you can imagine. Soul brother No. 1 ... we miss you James Brown." — Snoop Dogg. ___ "He was a whirlwind of energy and precision, and he was always very generous and supportive to me in the early days of The Stones. I've always been a huge admirer of him as a performer and a band leader. His passing is a huge loss to music." — Mick Jagger. ___ "An American original, his fans came from all walks of life and backgrounds. James Brown's family and friends are in our thoughts and prayers this Christmas." — President Bush. ___ "People already know his history, but I would like for them to know he was a man who preached love from the stage. His thing was 'I never saw a person that I didn't love.' He was a true humanitarian who loved his country." — Charles Bobbit, a friend who was with Brown when he died. ___ "Last night, he said 'I'm going to be there. I'm the hardest working man in show business.'" — Agent Frank Copsidas, on Brown's comments the night before he died about a scheduled New Year's Eve performance in New York. ___ "He was dramatic to the end — dying on Christmas Day. ... He'll be all over the news all over the world today. He would have it no other way." — Rev. Jesse Jackson. *** James Brown Top 10 singles Mon Dec 25, 2006 Associated Press James Brown hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 or Billboard Top R&B Singles in each of four decades. 1956: "Please, Please, Please" 1959: "Try Me" 1960: "Think" 1961: "Baby, You're Right" 1961: "Bewildered" 1961: "I Don't Mind" 1962: "Lost Someone" 1962: "Night Train" 1963: "Prisoner of Love" 1965: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" 1965: "I Got You (I Feel Good)" 1966: "Ain't That a Groove" 1966: "Don't Be A Drop-Out" 1966: "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" 1966: "Sweet Little Baby Boy" 1967: "Cold Sweat" 1967: "Let Yourself Go" 1968: "I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)" 1968: "I Got The Feelin'" 1968: "Licking Stick - Licking Stick" 1968: "Say it Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" 1968: "There Was A Time" 1969: "Ain't It Funky Now" 1969: "Give It Up Or Turn It A Loose" 1969: "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I'll Get It Myself)" 1969: "Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn" 1969: "Mother Popcorn (You Got To Have A Mother For Me)" 1970: "Get Up (I Feel Like Being Like A) Sex Machine" 1970: "Santa Claus Is Definitely Here To Stay" 1970: "Super Bad" 1971: "Escape-ism" 1971: "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" 1971: "Hot Pants (She Got To Use What She Got To Get What She Wants)" 1971: "I'm A Greedy Man" 1971: "Make It Funky" 1971: "Soul Power" 1972: "Get On The Good Foot" 1972: "King Heroin" 1972: "Talking Loud And Saying Nothing" 1973: "I Got A Bag Of My Own" 1973: "Sexy, Sexy, Sexy" 1974: "Funky President (People It's Bad)" 1974: "My Thang" 1974: "Papa Don't Take No Mess" 1974: "Stone To The Bone" 1974: "The Payback" 1976: "Get Up Offa That Thing" 1985: "Living in America"